War of the Heart
by DragonsWillFly
Summary: Liara has had to make a lot of choices since the destruction of the Normandy. But none of them effect her as much as the war that rages on in her very soul. Liara/Femshep pairing. Rated T for now may move to M in later chapters.
1. Prologue

_**Author's note: This story has been running rampant in my head for the past month. I have wrote a few chapters already, but really wasn't going to post them until I had at least came to a close on one of the four other stories I have been working on (three out of the four are in the Potterverse while the other one is a Dragon Age fic.) But, I feel that Liara's story needs to be let out. I love the Mass Effect universe... you are all great! And reading quite a few of the stories was another reason I wanted to try this story out for size. It a third person narrative based off of Liara's point of view. To give everyone a bit of a heads up... it will cover a lot of things that are seen within Mass Effect 2 going very heavily into the Liar of the Shadow Broker tale, (The best ME DLC I have ever played!) as well as playing off of the Mass Effect Redemption comic. So... without further ado, I give you the prologue!**_

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"_**The ties that bind one heart to another**_

_**cannot be broken; even in death."**_

Over two years have passed since the destruction of the _Normandy_. Two years... such a short time in the life of an asari. But to Dr. Liara T'Soni, those two years feels like a lifetime of hurt, anguish, and of course constant mourning. There are days when the young scientist, turned information broker, doesn't even want to get out of bed; but she forces herself to work. She needs to work, to keep her mind off of the pain she feels residing deep in her very soul.

Each day that passes, Liara searches the extranet and sends out feelers, hoping that her wary trust was not misplaced in the organisation that she and the rest of the crew from the _Normandy_ had hunted down while they were also trying to stop Saren, Sovereign, and the geth. Dr. T'Soni knew that the Alliance had considered searching for the Commander's body, a lost cause. Only waiting a week before they announced that Commander Jaelyn Shepard was K.I.A. So with a location, funding, and a promise to bring her lover back, Liara knew she had to place some faith in Cerberus. Even though she knew it could possibly come back and bite her on the ass. But that is a chance she is more than willing to take.

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_**A/N 2: I know it was bloody short but, I promise I will have chapter one up and running by tomorrow (with luck it will be transferred from ink to digital by tonight! I know... I know. I can't help but to write everything down first on to paper then type it out later. I catch more mistakes that way! Hope this little morsel has caught a few people's attention and I would love to know if you would want more!**_


	2. Memories

_**Author's Note: So, I was able to tear myself away from setting up the next chapter of one of my Bellamione stories to type this up and post it for you lot! I didn't expect to see the amount of alerts that I received in such a short period of time, nor the amount of views for that matter. As you will see, I am going to start each chapter with a quote that ties in perfectly (or so I believe) with the content of said chapter. Also, I forgot to mention that my Shepard followed the Paragon path and she is a Spacer/War Hero/ Adept Biotic (always loved being a biotic... but only the adept or vanguard, never liked sentinel that much.) Well anyway... I believe I have talked enough, on to the story!  
**_

* * *

"_**I'm folding up my little dreams**_

_**Within my heart tonight,**_

_**And praying I may soon forget**_

_**The torture of their sight"**_

_**-Georgia Douglas Johnson**_

_Liara is lounging casually on Jaelyn's bed, gazing longingly at her lover who was putting her clothes back on. "Why do you have to go back out there, Jaelyn? Joker hasn't informed us that we have arrived yet, so we still have more time to relax." The asari felt worried for the biotic soldier. Shepard hadn't slept properly ever since the whole situation with Saren and the geth. She slept even less when they all found out that Saren's flagship wasn't even a real ship, but a member of a race of sentient machines, known as Reapers. _

_Jaelyn runs her hand through her shoulder length red hair as she paces the floor of the her room, "I know Liara. It's just I don't understand... we defeated Saren and Sovereign. But the Council wants me to continue to search for the geth out in the Traverse. We should be focusing on finding out how to keep the Reapers from leaving Dark Space, not hunting down small pockets of geth on random, uninhabitable planets."_

_Liara leans up from her prone position, "I know Jaelyn... but the Council feels that these groups of geth, that have been seen outside of the Perseus Veil, are more of a threat than the Reapers. With the conduit, we have stalled them from leaving Dark Space; so they believe we have more than enough time before they try to attack the galaxy." Liara could see the frustration pouring out of the human in front of her._

"_But it's not enough!" The Commander's hands glowed in a brilliant blue with the influx of aggravation she felt. Taking a deep breath, Jaelyn looks at Liara. "I'm sorry... it's just everything seems to have gone to hell in a hand-basket and we are all in the..." The human was interrupted as bright red flashing lights and sirens going off throughout the shuttle. _

_Liara looks around frantically as she stumbles off the bed, "Jaelyn... what's that? Is everything allright?"_

"_I don't know Liara... you stay here and I will go check it out." The Commander walks out of her cabin to see about the disturbance._

_The asari gets dressed quickly after Shepard leaves the room. Pacing back and forth, Liara struggles with her mind and heart. Her brain tells her that she should listen to Jaelyn and stay behind, while the more than capable Alliance officer sees what is the problem; but, her heart argues with that logic. It keeps telling her to follow her lover to make sure that everything is okay. During her internal battle of logic over emotions, the Normandy shudders for reasons unknown to the Prothean Expert, though she assumes they were more than likely under attack. _

_Forgetting about staying in Shepard's quarters, as instructed, Liara races to her room within the medbay to retrieve her armour. 'There is no way I am going to let her fight alone.' T'Soni thinks to herself as she quickly dons her new armour and searches frantically for the Commander. _

_The search doesn't take the scientist long, for when she came running out of the medbay she saw the adept soldier through the reddish glow of the emergency lights, placing her helmet over her head. "Shepard!"_

"_The distress beacon is ready for launch." Jaelyn says as she turns around to face Liara. "Why didn't you stay in my quarters Liara? I don't want you to get hurt." She steps closer to the Prothean Expert as another barrage hits the outside of the ship._

"_I couldn't let you do this on your own Jaelyn... will the Alliance get here in time?" Dr. T'Soni moves closer to the Commander, fear wavering her voice._

_The turbulence becomes more erratic as the kinetic barriers of the Normandy steadily decline, causing Liara to stumble forward into the always-prepared-for-anything, arms of Jaelyn Shepard. "The Alliance won't abandon us. We just need to hold on." She steadies the asari before moving away to try and put out the fires that have came to life under the steady attack. "Get everyone on to the escape shuttles."_

"_Joker's still in the cockpit...He won't evacuate." 'At least I think he is because who else would be driving this thing?' The asari muses before she is quickly brought back to the severity of the situation. "And I'm not leaving either." _

_Shepard glances at her lover twice, if Liara could see her face she would see the surprise written all over it. "Liara, I need you to get the crew on to the evac shuttles." The soldier walks towards the doctor and takes the fire extinguisher from her. "I'll take care of Joker."_

_While walking away from Liara and towards the cockpit an explosion erupts in front of the biotic soldier causing her to stumble into one of the nearby sleeper pods. "Shepard!"_

"_Liara, go. Now." _

"_Aye. Aye." Dr. T'Soni feels the tears trail down her face, but is thankful that Jaelyn can not see them. It was one thing to cry in front of her lover when they are alone in her or Shepard's quarters, but it is quite the other when Jaelyn is faced with duty. Liara knows that no matter what happens she has to never show her feelings when Jaelyn has switched into her 'Commander' role because if she does, she knows it would cause the human to lose focus and Liara never wants to see the outcome of an unfocused Alliance soldier in the heat of battle. So she ran. She ran all the way from the crew quarters to where the emergency shuttles were located, calling out for everyone that she saw to follow her. "Everybody in...go! Go! Go!" The asari cries out after she opened the port to the emergency shuttle, only allowing herself to enter the shuttle once she realised no one else was following. _

_Once the shuttle was jettisoned from the Normandy, Liara felt her breath catch in her throat when she saw the damage done to the ship that has became her home for the past year. 'Goddess... who could do this?' As if to answer her question, a bright yellow beam hits the Normandy. The kinetic barriers were now non-existent and the beam struck through to engineering, causing a reaction between the eezo fuel cells and the beam itself. The explosion was so bright, Liara had to close her eyes. Taking off her helmet, T'Soni lets the tears and heart wrenching sobs escape unhindered. _

"Shepard!" Liara jolts out of bed, screaming, tears streaming down her face and sweat dripping off her body. She looks wildly about her, looking for an escape route, when the asari realises she is not on the _Normandy _but in her own darkened apartment, in Nos Astra. "Goddess... it was just a dream." Dr. T'Soni says aloud, still slightly shaken from the vividness of the nightmare.

The young asari knows the dream shouldn't bother her. For night after night, for over two years, she has had the same dream. A dream that leaves such a resounding mark on her that it lasts throughout the day and replays again as she sleeps. But Liara knows that this is not merely a dream... it is a memory. The most horrifying memory in all of her one hundred and eight years of life, even more terrifying than having to witness the death of her indoctrinated mother. The death of her lover, Commander Jaelyn Shepard.

Willing herself to calm down even more, Liara notices the terminal downstairs is beeping, signifying an incoming call. _'Who would be calling me this early in the morning?' _T'Soni thinks to herself as she glances at the clock beside her. It was 0400 hours. If it wasn't for the dream waking her, she would still be asleep. Reaching for the N7 shirt and shorts that she kept by her bedside, an outfit she had taken one night from Jaelyn's room when she couldn't find her own clothes, Liara pulls them on and quickly walks down the stairs to answer the call.

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_**AN2: Let me know what you think! I have been in the Potterverse for quite some time... I never really thought of doing a futuristic story until I had played Mass Effect 3 and was shell shocked by the ending! That was when I wrote 'Hope on the Horizon' then I went and wrote a few Dragon Age one shots as well as started writing more on my main stories. But, as I said the call of writing this was too great so I have been flipping back and forth between stories to get this one up and running properly. So feedback is appreciated. **_


	3. The Call

_**Author's Note: I would just like to say thank you all for the response I have received for this story! I was unsure of what would happen when I had started writing this story. I have always written stories with the settings in either present time or in the past, so I shocked myself to see that this story had been forming in the back of my mind and that I was having no trouble with writing it. If any of you have read the Mass Effect Redemption comic, this chapter is where I start to throw in some flash-backs that bring that story in with this one. Anyways, thanks again for the reviews and alerts for this story. So without further ado... on to the chapter!**_

* * *

"_**Know that even in the throes of mourning,**_

_**Hope is still on the horizon."**_

Liara runs her hand over her face in hopes to compose herself more before answering that call. Once she feels in control, the asari taps a few commands on the terminal. "Yes, Nyxeris. What is it?" Liara says as she stares at the other asari on the screen.

"_Uh.. yes. I received some information that I believe you would find of interest, Ms. T'Soni."_ The woman on the screen stammers, clearly nervous after hearing the slightly harsh tone her boss was using.

"Nyxeris... haven't I told you not to call me unless it was extremely important?" Liara huffs before continuing. "But anyway, what is this bit of information that you feel is important enough to call me in the middle of the night for?"

The asari on-screen takes a deep breath, _"Shepard is alive."_

The information broker grips the edge of the table she is standing in front of, "What did you say?"

"_Shepard is alive."_

"How do you know this? Nyxeris, where were you able to find this information?" Liara asks, her mind still not processing what the other asari was telling her.

"_Remember when you asked me to find a way to tap into the Cerberus system? Well, I wasn't able to hack into it. I even had a few Salarians, who were retired STGs, try their hand at cracking it, but to no avail. But, we received information about a Cerberus shuttle heading towards Freedom's Progress, the human planet that has went dark several hours ago. The heat signature suggests that there were four humans occupying the shuttle. A few of us hacked into the planet's security monitors and noticed a female human with red-hair and a N7 logo attached to her armour."_

Liara feels her heart jump into her throat at the thought of Jaelyn being alive, but after two years of mourning she knows she will hurt herself more if she lets the emotions run freely. "Send me the data, Nyxeris. I will know for certain if it is Shepard or not."

"_Of course ma'am. Uploading the feed to you now." _

The screen grows dark after Nyxeris ends the call, but lights back up as security footage of a Cerberus shuttle fills the screen. Liara stares intently at the images, praying to the Goddess that Nyxeris was right this time.

The first time she had received Intel from anyone on Shepard's whereabouts was two years ago. Just a month after the destruction of the _Normandy_. Liara had been so hopeful that any lead was something to go on for her quest to be reunited with her lover. The young asari travelled to Omega in hopes that a vessel had managed to pick up the escape pod that Joker and Jaelyn had used to evade the flaming death-trap that the ship had become. The information was sent to her anonymously, of course, and they seemed more than happy to give Liara the Intel she needed. For a price.

The information was shady to say the least, but the young asari was unskilled at detecting such a thing. She had worked by herself at Prothean dig-sites for fifty years before she had come to work with Shepard and the _Normandy _crew. So she pushed back her internal feelings of uncertainty as boarded a shuttle heading towards Omega, where she was to meet up with an agent who supposedly had detailed information on Jaelyn's whereabouts.

The Batarian that owned the shuttle made the scientist a bit uneasy, but considering her encounter with that species on Asteroid X57 and Shepard's own detailed account of the attack on Elysium, Liara knew that her opinion of the Batarians, in general, could be somewhat skewed. But with the two Turians on the ship, it made her feel fairly at ease. The young asari had no real qualms with any Turian, all the ones she had met had been a bit militant, but still courteous to her species. So she allowed herself to relax slightly as they travel towards Omega.

Unknown to her, the Turians and the Batarian were talking amongst themselves as they came closer to the hollowed out husk of an asteroid known as Omega. They knew that who she was and also knew who she was more than likely looking for. They became aggressive when Liara asked if they were close to their destination, stating that she couldn't leave their ship until the docking fees were paid. Realising that if she didn't react quickly, there was no way she would ever get off that ship alive.

"By the Goddess... It is her!" Liara says aloud as an image on the screen snaps her back to the present. The first few minutes of footage had shown her not even a trace of evidence that would suggest that Shepard was alive, which had caused the information broker to get lost in her memories. But now watching the fight between the three humans and the heavy mech, Liara knew, without hesitation, that Jaelyn was among them.

It was all there. Like poetry in motion. Calm, fluid biotics, paired wonderfully with heavy pistol usage. Red, shoulder-length hair and a perfect replica of the black N7 armour that she had encased in glass, on display right next to the very terminal she was watching the data on. The asari chokes back a sob of relief as she watches Jaelyn release one last Warp, causing the YMIR to stop its assault and explode. Creating a Barrier just as soon as she had released the Warp, Jaelyn was able to keep any debris from hitting her or the rest of her human squad. Liara smiled, while the tears streamed down her face. Over two years of mourning as well as hoping were over, now the only question remaining is... will Jaelyn still feel the same for Liara as the asari feels for her?


	4. Shadows of Doubt

_**Author's Note: Wow... just wow! I would like to thank everyone for their kind reviews as well as the author alerts, story alerts, and story favourites. I can honestly say I did not expect such a response (not after less than two days of this being up!) I won't keep this note long... I just wanted to comment on how bloody brilliant you lot have been and that I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

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"_**Things perceived by the senses are immediately perceived by the senses;**_

_**and things immediately perceived by the senses are ideas;**_

_**and ideas cannot exist without the mind, their **_

_**existence therefore consists in being perceived;**_

_**when therefore they are actually perceived, there can be no doubt of their existence."**_

_**-George Berkeley**_

Many years ago, Benezia had told a younger Liara that patience was a virtue that the Goddess held over every other virtue that was in the universe. Since the asari were the Goddess' people, they were blessed with patience the most and that was why they were gifted with a long life expectancy. Ever the curious child, the young Liara had asked her mother if that was the case, then why were the Krogan gifted with an extraordinary life expectancy also. Laughing at her daughter's inquisitive nature, Benezia kneels down so she could be eye-level with her only child. "Little Wing, it was only a figure of speech. We, as asari, must take in to consideration everything that we do. We pride ourselves on our patience with other species as well as patience for our sisters who have strayed off their path. It may take years to see the fruitation of what is to be had out of one decision that is made. But know this, once you have made a choice in what you wish to do with your life... never, ever doubt yourself. For if you doubt yourself, you will forever be marred with the guilt of what-ifs." Liara often wished she had asked her mother what she had meant by that statement, but at thirteen years old, the thought had never crossed her mind. Now, however, she has slowly began to understand what her mother had meant.

Ever since Nyxeris had called her the information broker had been thinking non-stop on the possibility of Jaelyn actually being alive. _'Did I do the right thing by giving Cerberus her body?' _Liara thought to herself as she stared at the broken breast plate of the N7 armour she had displayed in the first floor of her apartment. _'Of course I did, it was either them, the Alliance, or the Collectors. The Alliance would have just buried her and been done with it and the Collectors would have did Goddess knows with her body. So the only logical conclusion was to give her body to the group who could try and bring her back. But...what if she didn't want to be brought back? What if she is mad at me for giving her body to Cerberus? I know that we had a lot of run-ins with the splinter group while we were tracking down Saren and what they were doing was a complete abomination, but I just know that Ms. Lawson will be true to her word. Or at least I hope... did they at least tell her that I was the one who had rescued her?' _Liara starts pacing the floor as she thought of all the things that Cerberus could have said to Jaelyn. How much would she believe and was she even the same person? All these thoughts plus hundreds more were running rampantly through her mind, causing a migraine to slowly form.

_'There has to be a way for me to reach her. Just to let her know I am still waiting for her. But how did they bring her back and why didn't they contact me when she was awake?' _The asari decides that she was tired of the waiting. Walking back to her terminal, she taps a few commands out onto the keyboard. The telltale beep made Liara smile as she sees a stream of data flow across the terminal screen. _'Well, I see no indication of Shepard receiving any out of the ordinary documents from the Illusive Man. But that still doesn't mean he hasn't contacted her through video communication. That will take time and resources I do not quite have. If only I didn't have to use most of my people to search for the Shadow Broker, then I could focus everything on making sure Jaelyn was safe and wasn't being influenced by Cerberus' boss.' _

Liara remembers her first encounter with the Illusive Man. The young asari was following Feron down through the old mining tunnels deep in the lower levels of Omega when the Blue Suns Mercenaries ambushed them. Liara fought off a few of her attackers with her biotics, until a gruff voice came up behind her. A krogan, who seemed to be leading the squad of mercenaries, poised his shotgun in her direction and threatened to shoot her if she used her biotics anymore. As the leader talked on, the asari realised that they knew exactly why she was there. It was strange, considering that she never even told her squadmates what she was doing. Everything she had done was all executed through an array of secure communication channels and, at times, under aliases. Fortunately for her, the krogan's speech was cut short as he crashed to the ground with a blood pool slowly increasing in size underneath him.

The only word spoken by any of the other mercenaries was 'sniper!' before the rest of the squad was barraged by heavy gunfire from scaffolding a couple of stories up from the ground level. Liara urged Feron to follow her, away from the firefight. They raced down the corridor and into another hall, both seeming to calm down slightly when they had heard the dying sound of the warzone they had just escaped. Looking around the area, Feron noticed they were not alone. Two human males in silver armour were standing in front of them, their assault rifles in hand. "Maybe we should have kept running." The drell says as he stars at the two men in front of them.

"Relax drell. We are all working for the same goal. Finding Commander Shepard." A woman in a black and white cat-suit armour says as she strides past the two men towards Liara and her companion.

"But, Shepard is dead." Liara says as she barely chokes back a sob. She may have not paid that much attention to the krogan before his head was blown off, but she heard two things that had stuck with her during the whole situation that had transpired. Shepard was dead and the Shadow Broker had something to do with it.

"Shepard's beaten the odds before. I am Miranda Lawson, and I represent someone who would like to meet you very much. Work with us and we might be able to bring her back."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liara asks as her heart flutters with the idea of possibly getting her lover back.

"Just follow me." Is the reply of the dark-haired female as she stops mid-stride only to turn her head to acknowledge the question Liara had imposed.

Shaking her head, the Prothean Expert decided it would be best to follow the woman who had just saved her and Feron from the mercs that lay scattered about the floor of the tunnel she had just left from. That was when she had met the Illusive Man, a charismatic but prejudice man, who Liara felt would stop at nothing to see humans bypass all other species in Citadel Space and rule with an iron fist. He had told Liara that he needed her to retrieve the Commander's body. The Shadow Broker had arranged one of his contacts to retrieve the body from the Blue Suns so he could give it to the Collectors, for a price. This new information had sent many questions spiralling through out the asari's mind, the main one being why would a race of slavers want with a corpse.

Liara had felt that it was bad to meet with the leader of Cerberus from the start, considering all that she had seen them do in the past, but ever the charismatic leader that he was, the Illusive Man brought up the main reason he felt that it would be best for the scientist to be the one to retrieve Jaelyn's body. "You were very close to Shepard while you were part of her team to take down Saren. Even though I never really approve of such relationships between two different species, I know that nothing drives a person more than personal motive. That is why it had to be you to bring back her body."

The images of her first encounter with the man only known as the Illusive Man, slip away back into the deep recesses of her mind as an idea barrels to the forefront. Stopping the data flow that had been streaming on the screen in front of her, Liara opens up a new programme and quickly types out a message. Once finished, she sends it hoping that her rash decision to open up communication between herself and the only person she never wanted to deal with again would not go over looked.


	5. Longing

_**Author's Note: I always found it a bit strange on how the Illusive Man had been able to get the locations of all the dossiers he had pulled on all the alien squadmates for Shepard. True he was keen to all the goings on within the galaxy (being somewhat of a information broker as well.) But I often wondered with him not taking a fancy to other species and only looking out for humanity, how in bloody hell did he know where a drell assassin and an asari justicar would be? So I decided to take a bit of liberties with that part of the story (let me know what you think! I have been debating on this chapter for a bit, but quite like how it came out.)**_

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"_**Absence makes the heart grow fonder." **_

_**-Thomas Haynes Bayly**_

Days turned into months, as Liara had heard no reply from The Illusive Man nor Ms. Lawson. She had sent countless messages to both Cerberus members with nothing being heard from either. She even tried to send a message out to Dr. Chakwas and Joker, when she had found out the two had also joined Jaelyn on her quest to save humanity from destruction, but communication to them must have been blocked because when she sent them, an error would appear on the screen and would delete everything she had written. After several tries with several different hacks and no headway, the asari gave up on trying to reach the human doctor and the pilot.

It wasn't until the second month of waiting did Liara find something that would be big enough to catch Cerberus's attention. She had heard rumours right after the situation at Freedom's Progress, that the organisation was recruiting other species to aid them on finding the Collectors. She was unsure of how accurate the rumours were until she had finally found out that it was fact, as an image of the _Normandy SR-2_ was seen docking in Omega. That was when Garrus Vakarian and Mordin Solus had joined Jaelyn's crew. She began to do a little research, hacking into as many Cerberus files as she could, until she finally got a break. There were dossiers on two people that were currently on Illium, an asari justicar named Samara and a drell assasin name Thane Krios. Both had recently came to Nos Astra for reasons of their own, that the asari was quite aware of and knew she finally had a message that the Illusive Man could not ignore.

Smirking to herself, Liara opens up a new programme on her terminal and quickly types out a message to the head of Cerberus. _'I bet he won't be able to ignore this bit of Intel. I don't know how Nyxeris was able to finally crack the codes on the Illusive Man's dossiers, but I believe it is time to give her a raise.' _Liara thinks to herself as she finishes the message and sends it. _'Now all I have to do is wait for the reply.' _

The wait wasn't long, for after only a few moments of reading through the datapad that was sitting on her desk did she her a beep from her terminal. Tossing the datapad to the side, the asari pulls up the message. It was labelled 'High Priority' and the sender was redacted. There was only one person who would do such a thing that Liara had came across within the two years after her life had changed, she smiled to herself at the almost instant response.

_Dr. T'Soni,_

_Allright, you win... I know you have been trying to contact us for a few months now, ever since you had found out that Shepard is alive. Though I do not condone a meeting between the two of you, for it will more than likely complicate things for the Commander. But, given light to the Intel you have provided; I am going to forego my prior misgivings and allow Shepard to meet with you. I know we have had our qualms in the past... but, I hope we can look past all of that as we try and pool our resources together to combat the Collectors. You know the magnitude of Jaelyn's mission, so I will not going into detail on how this meeting will effect her. You were the first person she asked about when she had first met me and Ms. Lawson has told me that she has been harrassing her about finding ways to contact you. _

_I don't know what you did to her while you were together but I will let you know, this meeting is to only be about the information that you still have in regards to the two people I have been looking for. You will only give her that information that you have left out and that is it. _

_I know you have your own problems that you are currently dealing with... our meeting two years ago is what had caused them and for that I do apologise and if I receive any further Intel on that specific topic, I will be more than happy to forward it to you. Call it an olive branch if you will. A truce between the two of us. But I warn you, asari, if I hear so much as a request from you for the Commander to leave her duties with Cerberus, you will be left with no Intel whatsoever and I will personally find a way to make sure you will never receive the information on the Shadow Broker that you truly desire. _

_The Normandy SR-2 will be arriving within a couple of days, I have asked Miranda to personally escort Shepard to your offices. The Commander will be under the pretense that she is only meeting a information broker and will only find out when she lands that you are there. Ms. Lawson's job is to merely keep me informed on the situation between the two of you and she will report everything back to me afterwards. Then and only then will I be able to see if you have been helpful enough to be gifted with the Intel that has recently fallen into my lap. Until then, I suggest that you be a good asari and let the Commander continue on her mission._

_-T.I.M. _

Liara felt her blood boil at the human male's words. She had always hated to deal with him, given his prejudice against all of the galatic species save for humans. But this was almost a breaking point for the asari. _'If it weren't for Jaelyn being the one leading the squad and how much I really need to see her, I would have never sent that xenophobe that missive.' _She promptly closes the message and sighs audibly. _'He is right though. If I cause to be too much of a liability for Jaelyn's emotions, she will have too much on her mind to be able to concentrate; therefore, bringing in the possibility of her not coming back from her mission.' _The asari reaches her hand up to her face and pinches the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger, sighing again as she realises what she now has to do.

In two days she will finally get to see Jaelyn after two years of mourning, two years of nightmares, and of course two years of longing for a touch that she thought she would never receive again; but to make sure all went as it was supposed to, Liara would have to strengthen her resolve and pretend that seeing the only person she had ever loved did not affect her.


	6. As Cold As Ice

_**Author's Note: Sorry for the slight lag in updating, I got caught up with a few of my other fics, as well as my original story that I am writing on. This one is a bit longer than the other chapters. Even though in Mass Effect 2 this scene didn't really seem like much to some, it had quite the impact on me. As some will notice, I used a lot of conversations from the game. So insert disclaimer here (...) Now on to the chapter!**_

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"_**Even though the pain etches into your heart, **_

_**know that what I've done cuts through my very soul."**_

The two days flew by quickly for Liara as she had worked. It seems that even through her anticipation of seeing Jaelyn, work would not wait. Calls kept pouring in and mountains of data flooded her terminal. Even her secretary, Nyxeris had sent her several datapads from various agencies on Illium. The vid call she was fielding now was just, as the humans call it, the straw that broke the camels back. The man was a human who had let it be known to her from the very beginning of his strong allegiance to the Terra Firma Party. His allegations of her species was very apparent in his condescending tone. The more he spoke of trade agreements that he obviously would receive more profit from than the asari group he would be working with and the fact that she had gave him the generous amount of Intel that had caused the beginnings of the trade agreement the more Liara couldn't take it and the sudden sound of her office door opening was truly the breaking point.

"Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have. I'll make it simple. Either you pay me, or I flay you alive. With my mind."

The man on the other end terminated the call causing Liara to sigh and look down at her datapad. Someone clears their throat behind her causing the asari to jump. Turning around Liara's breath caught in her chest and momentarily forget the pact she had made with the Illusive Man. "Shepard! Nyxeris... hold all my calls."

Liara walks slowly towards her former lover, as if the slow movement would calm her racing pulse. Reaching for the human's hands, the asari noticed the smile on the Commander's face when their hands finally made contact with one another. Tossing out all the contingencies that the Illusive Man had put on the meeting, Liara leans forward and captures Jaelyn's lips with her own. In those mere seconds, all the pain and mourning of the past two years melted leaving the asari feeling the warmth of the love and conviction that their relationship was founded upon.

Someone coughs in the background, causing Liara to break the kiss... it was Miranda. _'Of course it had to be the Cerberus bitch... Garrus would never do such a thing.' _The asari lets a small smile cross her lips after she had moved away. _'Even after all this time, she is still the same Jaelyn I love. But I can't allow her to get sidetracked... too much is at stake.'_

Liara sees Shepard move forward to kiss her again, the asari unleashes a quick but small stasis field to keep her former lover at bay and shakes her head sadly. The hurt that flashed through Jaelyn's eyes cut deep into the information broker's heart. But she knew that it had to be this way. Logic, not emotions needed to rule now. Taking a deep breath, Liara offers the Commander the empty seat in front of her desk.

"My sources said you were alive, but I never believed... It's very good to see you." Liara says as she still tries to keep her voice from cracking as the emotions try to break through her resolve.

Jaelyn looks at Liara, the asari could see the hurt flash through the human's eyes as she tries to make sense of what is happening. "You have sources now?" Shepard asks slightly shocked at how far Liara had came from. The human remembers how timid and naïve the asari used to be.

The information broker hears the surprise in the Commander's voice and smiles on the inside. "A few. Sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle. I've been working as an information broker." She turns her back away from Jaelyn. _'Goddess, I can barely look at her without my heart wanting to break. Why did I ever agree to his terms?' _"It's paid the bills since you..." She couldn't say it. Two years and she still couldn't say 'since you died.' It hurt too damn much still. Liara turns back to face her old lover and moves to sit down, as does Shepard. "Well, for the past two years. And now you're back, gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus."

Jaelyn smiles, she was quite impressed with how accurate Liara's information was. It made her almost not want to ask her next question. But how she had missed her beautiful asari. She was the last thing that Shepard had thought of before her death and she was the first thing she had thought of when she was brought back to life. Jaelyn had asked Miranda as well as the Illusive Man several times about what happened to Liara and where did she go, but they were always so cryptic with their replies that the Commander decided to drop her interrogation. Still, here Liara was. Right there in front of her in all her beautiful glory. She knew she had to ask her to come back. "If you know that, then you know I could use your help."

She knew the question was in there, Shepard wanted her to join her; as a squad mate as well as rekindle their relationship. Liara had dreamt of answering that question since she had received information that Jaelyn was alive. It was a question that she knew she could not give the answer she wanted to give. She felt her heart rip in two as she spoke. "I can't, Shepard. I'm sorry. I have commitments here. Things I need to take care of." The asari could feel the bile rising in her throat as she saw the sorrowful stare that Jaelyn gave her as she finished her last sentence. She wished she could have been honest with Shepard. Everything that they had been through, everything they had meant to one another was all based on honesty. To lie to her now was like a slap in the face. The woman sitting in front of her did not know what was going on, she didn't know that her Cerberus 'friends' were basically blackmailing Liara. She didn't even know that Liara still cried herself to sleep each night because she missed even the slightest touch from her. _'She must think I have moved on... if only she knew how far from the truth that is. Does she even know that I am the one who rescued her body from the Collectors? Does she know I am the one who gave her body to Cerberus?' _Liara glances to the corner of the room where Garrus and Miranda were standing. She felt bad for her turian friend. He looked just as crushed as Shepard did, his mandibles twitching nervously as he watched his best friend sitting in the chair looking dejected as ever. Her gaze lingers towards the Cerberus operative. Her icy cool demeanour radiating out like a glacial blast. The casualness of her stance did nothing to keep Liara from feeling like she was under heavy supervision.

It took a few moments for Jaelyn to find her voice. The hurt she felt within was more painful than anything she felt before. She knew that two years is a long time. Hell, to her it was almost a lifetime ago. "What kind of things do you need to take care of? Are you in trouble?" As much as she was hurting from the rejection of Liara, Shepard knew she would always help the asari... no matter what becomes of their relationship. She would not let whatever this situation was, get in the way of their friendship.

Liara felt as if she could burst into tears at hearing how caring Jaelyn was, even after how cold-hearted her responses have been. "No, no trouble." She glances at the frame that sat on her desk. It was a reminder of the reason why she was doing this. A debt she knew she had to repay. "But it's been a long two years. I had things to do while you were gone." At that point, the asari could feel the pinpricks of tears behind her eyes. She gets up from her chair and stares out onto the landscape of Illium. "I have debts to repay."

The meeting lasted a few minutes longer. After Liara had told Shepard that she needed someone with hacking expertise, the commander had quickly jumped up from her seat and said she would help. The asari knew that Jaelyn was never really any good at hacking but was grateful none the less. _'At least Garrus is with her. That way I know this won't get messed up.' _

Once the door closes behind them, Liara rests her elbows on her desk and places her head in her hands. A lone tear escapes from her eyes. _'Goddess... I can't believe she is back. I mean I knew,but... to see her. To touch her. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.' _She thinks back to the message from the Illusive Man and grimaces. _'I have to stay strong... I can't let him win this. If that cold-hearted bitch sees just a tiny crack in my resolve, she will tell him and I won't be able to see Jaelyn again.'_

A beeping sound emits from Liara's terminal, startling the asari out of her reverie. She glances at the screen and notices that the information she had sent Shepard to retrieve was downloaded into her system. _'Hmm... That was quicker than I thought it would be.' _Liara muses to herself as she reaches her hand up to her communicator. "Shepard... I have the files. Come back to my office when you get a moment."

Minutes later, Liara hears the tell-tale whoosh of the door as someone enters the room. She glances up from the data she had just receive and has to stifle a giggle when she sees Jaelyn walks in with a huge grin on her face. Remembering that she needs to ensure that everything has to remain professional, the asari gestures for the Commander to take a seat. "Thank you for getting me that system data. It leads me one step closer on my path to repaying what I owe."

"Can you at least tell me what it is I am helping you with, Liara? You know you can trust me." Jaelyn states as she stares longingly into the eyes of the asari. The human knew within her heart that this wasn't how Liara had wanted to act. Something was going on. Something was keeping her from telling the Commander what was going on in her life. And Jaelyn was going to try and find out. One way or another.

"I guess there is no harm in telling you at least some of what is going on... the information you gathered for me will assist me in finding the Shadow Broker." Liara starts, but is quickly interrupted by the human.

"I remember dealing with a few of his people back when we were after Saren." Shepard stares thoughtfully for mere seconds before her eyes widen. "Is he after you Liara? Are you on the run from him? Just say the word and I will help in any way possible. You know the _Normandy _is ready to help you if you need to go somewhere else."

The asari smiles softly as she hears Jaelyn's offer for help. "I think it would be best to say that the Shadow Broker is on the run from me and the information you had retrieved for me has helped me become one step closer to finding him and bringing him down." She slams her fist on the desk in front of her. The mere thought of being so close yet so far from destroying the one person who had helped ruin her life made her angry to the point of getting physical. "Jaelyn, I have already told you that I can't... It's not that I don't trust you. I do. It's just that the universe isn't ran on trust and friendship... it is about tracking down leads. Digging for information. All in all, I need to work. As much as I want to come with you, I have to do this on my own." Liara glances towards the Cerberus officer that stood in the corner. _'There you bitch... go tell your boss what I have said, maybe then he will let me have at least some time with Jaelyn after this is all over.' _

"Are you sure Liara? I can do whatever you need me to do."

Liara smiles again, though her heart feels as if someone was trying to rip it out of her chest. _'No matter how many times I have brushed off her help today, she still wants to try. Damn you Illusive Man! Once Jaelyn has dealt with the Collectors, I am going to have to make this up to her. I know she will no longer deal with Cerberus after all of this, so he will never have any more say in who she talks to. And I will tell her everything. But until then, I must play my part.' _"Yes Jaelyn, there is one more thing you can help me with."


	7. You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours

"_**There comes a time when all things come full circle."**_

* * *

_**Author's Note: I would first like to apologise for the long delay in this story. I had came across the dreaded brick wall called 'Writer's block', on this story until recently actually. I replayed the second Mass Effect in its entirety before I was finally able to move on with this story! So I am sorry for the delay, but I am nearly finished with the next chapter, so hopefully the brick wall is completely gone! I would like to thank everyone who reviewed, followed, or favourited this story! Without your support this would be merely a thought of 'this is how it should have played out!' Also, I would like to thank my un-official beta, freerangeegghead, for going over this! Even though you have never entered this 'verse, your thoughts and critiquing skills were definitely needed! **_

* * *

Liara paces the floor of her office, the asari's nerves had been on edge since Jaelyn had left for the second hacking job she had sent her on. _'Something just doesn't seem right about this... This information seemed to come out of nowhere. And it was too convenient. The timing too perfect.' _She thinks to herself as she runs her hand over her forehead. Biting on her lower lip, the asari tries to calm herself down. The more she thought about it, the more her stomach twisted in knots.

Everything she knew about the Shadow Broker, Liara had to dig for. Her job now reminds her so much of her time at Prothean digsites. All the data she had to rifle through was like the soil she had to move about in the ruins, always hoping that the next layer she shuffled through would contain what she was looking for. But this... it was like it had been handed to her on a silver platter. Set up, just waiting to be found. Sure there is some slight digging to it but not as much as she had been used to in the past. And the more she thought about it the more Liara realises that there has to be something major that she was missing.

Her headset crackles to life, as an incoming transmission comes through._ "Liara... None of the five suspects match up with the Observer."_

Liara's voice does not mask the confusion she feels when Jaelyn uttered those few words. "What do you mean none of the suspects match?" _'Goddess, maybe the intel I received was bad. I knew it seemed almost too good to be true.' _

"_All the suspects are male. The Observer is female... Liara who gave you this information?" _The asari could hear slight worry in the commander's voice.

"Nyxeris gave me the information..." The information broker starts, suddenly her eyes widen as the thought passes through her head. "Nyxeris..._ gave _me the information." Liara presses the button on the intercom in her desk. "Nyxeris, can you come to my office for a minute? Jaelyn, I will talk to you later."

Liara ends the call between her and the commander abruptly, her eyes never straying from the door. As the door swooshes open, the information broker feels the boiling rage that she had kept under wraps for the past two years manifest to aid the feeling of treachery she now felt. Standing up from her chair behind the desk, the asari walks towards her secretary. Even though she was thoroughly pissed, she knew to never allow her enemy to see it. That was one thing Benezia had taught her. _'The more anger you show towards others, the more they can use it against you. Never make yourself believe that your anger is your strength. It is a weakness.' _

The information broker looks calm, serene even, and her words spill forth as eloquently as always. "Nyxeris... the Commander has brought something to my attention in regards to our newly found information. I should thank you for that, but I know that the Shadow Broker wouldn't have wanted you to let that slip."

The other asari's eyes go wide, momentarily stunned at what Liara had said. Her mouth is opening and closing like a fish, with the words dying before ever leaving the back of her throat.

"Now tell me... did you tire of the constant bickering between the operatives that were working under you, or were you just frustrated that they couldn't find anything worth any interest?" Liara asks with feigned curiosity. "It doesn't matter anyway... because when we are finished here, you will be dead." The ex-Prothean Expert's hands flashed an electric blue before a biotically charged wave pressed forward.

Nyxeris never had a chance to pull her barriers up before she was thrown across the room and against the wall. The barely conscious secretary's head lolls to the side as Liara walks closer, inspecting the damage she had caused. Leaning down over the semi-conscious asari, who is quickly coming to, the information broker sneers. "So... what did the Shadow Broker want you to do? Gather information on me? Make sure I stumble around in the dark, so he can escape? Kill me?" The last question comes out as a hiss.

"You were too close..." Nyxeris says in a whisper, the momentum in which she crashed into the wall broke a few ribs, causing any form of speech to come out burdened with pain. "He... he needed someone to make sure you... never found him. I-it was supposed to be... easy." The asari closes her eyes and struggles to catch her breath. "I was to come here... feed you w-wrong information. T-then ki... kill you... when you least expec... expected it."

Liara stares at the secretary, the anger radiating off her body. "I would say to take a message back to your _master_, but I feel that finishing you off will send a better message to the Shadow Broker than you would tell him."

Nyxeris's death came swiftly after. The barely conscious asari didn't even know it was coming. Just a flash of blue, then nothing. When Liara rises from her kneeling position in front of her prey, she feels a satisfying smirk cross her lips as the thought that at least one more of the Shadow Broker's minions was disposed of crosses her mind. She punches a few commands in to her omnitool and waits near the body.

A few moments later, the door suddenly opens to allow three asari commandos into the room. "Yes, Miss T'Soni?" The first of the three commandos asks as she stands at rigid attention.

"I need you three to do me a favour..." Liara gestures to the late Nyxeris. "As you can see, I am in need of your expertise."

The leader quickly looks around the room after seeing the dead woman on the floor. "It looks as though you really didn't need our help after all Miss T'Soni."

The information broker smiles softly, "Well... not in that sense... But I do need you and your friends to help get rid of this body. You see, it isn't good for business if someone was to come in here and see my dead secretary on the floor." Liara moves closer to the three commandos. "I have a friend who is coming back here soon and I don't want her to feel as though she has let me down by not being here when she would think I would have needed her most." She sighs as the thought of how Shepard would react when she knows that Liara did in fact kill Nyxeris without her help.

The lead commando nods her head as the two other asari quickly grab the body of Nyxeris off the ground. Without any other words spoken, the three commandos exit the room and Liara is all alone. Walking calmly back to her desk, she steadies her rapid breathing before sitting down to await Shepard.

Liara did not have to wait long, for as soon as she sat down, the door opens with a hiss as Jaelyn enters the room, alone, her hands glowing with a biotic force just waiting to be used. Shepard glances around the room and notices it is empty, save for Liara. The human biotic calms herself before speaking.

"Shepard..." the asari starts as she sees the commander's hands return back to normal. "Nyxeris had some interesting data hidden away." Liara starts as a way of keeping from explaining why she did not wait for Jaelyn to arrive back at her office before confronting her ex-secretary. "Thank you. I would not have caught her without you. I am one step closer to the Shadow Broker, thanks to you."

"Did you have any trouble with Nyxeris?" the commander asks as she slowly slides into the chair opposite of Liara, worry still etching her voice even though she keeps her facial features composed.

Liara stares at the table for a moment. She knew that this question would eventually come up between them, though she did not think that Jaelyn would have been as calm as she seemed. "She was very talented. I imagine had she been ordered to assassinate me, I would have never seen her coming; but her barriers needed practise. Practise I am afraid she won't be getting."

"Liara, why didn't you wait? I know you can handle yourself, but I should have been here. You should have let me help you. What if she had proved to be more than you could have handled? I do not know what I would have done if..."

The information broker raises her hand to silence the commander, "Shepard..." she shakes her head at her own formality, "Jaelyn... when will you realise that I can handle myself? I am not the shy Prothean scientist you found on Therum, two years ago."

"But, Liara," Shepard leaves the seat from in front of the desk and quickly walks to the other side, "We have both always been there for each other. Please... come back with me on the _Normandy. _Whatever the Shadow Broker has done to you, I promise we will catch him. I just want to help." Jaelyn stares at the asari, her eyes pleading with the woman who was once her lover. Eyes that stated, 'Please, let me back into your life.'

Feeling the lump rise in the back of her throat, Liara takes a moment to gather all sense of propriety to push all emotions back down. "I think I can handle it from here, Jaelyn. I do, however, have a way to help you on your mission."


	8. Just When You Think That it is Over

_**Author's Note: I finished this chapter the other day, but wanted to make sure everything was just right before posting it. I would like to thank my un-official beta and friend, freerangeegghead for going over this! Now without further ado, here is chapter seven!**_

* * *

"_**Just when you think that everything is over, **_

_**something comes along to push you in the **_

_**right direction."**_

* * *

Several weeks pass after the last meeting with Jaelyn, but to Liara it feels as though years have passed her by. Every time the door to her office opens, she turns half expecting to see the commander waltz in and ask her to come back. The asari yearns for that daydream to become a reality, but it does not happen.

Sure, Liara knows that Jaelyn has used the intel that she gave her before she left. Her sources have told her that the justicar and the assassin are no longer in Nos Astra. Several Eclipse mercenaries, as well as a volus merchant have gone missing and the death of Nassana Dantius was proof enough that Shepard has helped assist the two people she was searching for on their quests on Illium and were well on their way to help the human soldier with her mission to save the galaxy.

The most intriguing bit of information that Liara receives is the disturbance that happens near one of the docking terminals. The official reports were that there was a fire-fight between the Eclipse mercenaries and the Blue Suns over a batch of Red Sand that was offered up to both groups from an unidentified benefactor, but Liara knows differently. Her information has always been very accurate, so she knows that it all had to do with Miranda's sister, Oriana, and her father's greed for his perfect dynasty. What shocks her more, while reviewing the encrypted feeds from the cameras and bugs she had placed all over Illium, is the fact that the ice-cold Cerberus bitch had actually asked Jaelyn for help.

During their time on Illium, the _Normandy's _human crew never seemed to get along. The commander seemed always at odds with the Cerberus part of the group. Considering how much the last _Normandy _team had went through with Cerberus while following Saren, this was a given. So for _the_ Miranda Lawson to ask Jaelyn Shepard, Saviour of the Citadel, for help in finding her sister, Liara guesses there had to be some dissension in the rogue human extremists groups ranks. The only problem is trying to figure out what had happened while they were on the ship for Ms. Lawson to ask Shepard for help.

Trying to figure out what exactly Ms. Lawson is planning has caused the information broker to lose focus on the Shadow Broker, the trail getting colder as the days pass. She knows this, but trying to figure out the enigma of why Miranda would ask Jaelyn of all people to help her find her sister had kept her from focusing on the task at hand.

A beep from her terminal causes Liara to stir from her pondering and she quickly opens the flashing icon on the screen. Glancing at the text, Liara can feel her blood boil upon reading the name at the bottom of the message. _'The Illusive Man...' _she scowls at the screen and quickly re-reads over the short but puzzling message.

_All of this will be over soon, I assure you, Ms. T'Soni, and_

_our time with you will be finished._

_-TMI_

_'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' _the asari thinks to herself as she arches an eyebrow and stares at the screen as if it will suddenly give her meaning to such a cryptic message.

Contemplating over the message, Liara does not register the distinctive whooshing of the door opening. Her whole being immersed in the short text in front of her until the sound of someone clearing their throat jolts her out of her thoughts.

"Jaelyn!" Liara says jumping a little when she registers the smiling face staring down at her. "I thought you were gone already," the asari stands up from her chair and walks around her desk, she thinks about the missive she had received several moments before the interruption. "My sources said you picked up the two people that were on your dossiers from Illium, so I assumed you were gone already. It has been weeks."

Grinning like a kid trying to surprise their crush with a Valentine's present, Shepard shrugs, "I had left. We went and picked up Tali on Haelstrom when I received a message from The Illusive Man..."

Rolling her eyes, the asari states, "Yes, he sent me a message too. Was yours as esoteric as mine?"

"No, it was very informative actually," Shepard says, the grin never leaving her face. "Do you want to go after the Shadow Broker?"

"I'm sure it was rather informative... wait..." Liara stares at the human incredulously, "Did you just ask if I want to go after the Shadow Broker?" Shepard nods her head vigorously in agreement, "Jaelyn, I can't... I don't have all the information. With Nyxeris gone, I haven't been able to find a new secretary with as much know how as she had, granted all her information was spoon-fed to me by the Broker, himself but I need to find out more information before I can tackle on such a task."

It is as if the smile was forever plastered to her face, as the red-haired biotic gives the datapad to the asari, "Is this information enough? The Illusive Man sent this to my private terminal right after Haelstrom. I guess he figured since I was able to recruit Tali on this mission, given the history between the Quarians and Cerberus, I definitely should be rewarded with information to help you out. Also, my threatening him to call off the mission until I was able to see you again helped out too."

"You threatened to call off the mission?! But Jaelyn, you can't do that... humanity needs you, the galaxy needs you!" Liara says as she drops the datapad onto her desk and stares at the human.

The commander shrugs her shoulders dissmissively, "True, but if you are chasing down the Shadow Broker then it must be important, otherwise you wouldn't be hiding things from me." She stares at the information broker longingly, "Liara, I need to help you, sure, my threat to him was just that, a threat, but I can at least put it on hold until I know you are safe."

The human clears her throat again, "So, does the intel help in any way?"

Liara does not know what to say. Her heart feels as though it is about to break at the Alliance officer's confession, but logic overrules, as she pushes her emotions down. _'After all of this is over, maybe, but for now, I need to focus on this. It feels too good to be true, but I know Jaelyn. She would have somehow forced his hand to give me this intel.'_

As if reading her mind, Shepard smiles, "Remember when you told me to review the information you had on your terminal? Well, I took the liberty of reading the last message Illusive Man sent you, and questioned him after Samara and Thane boarded the _Normandy._ Whatever it is that you did for him, definitely deserved a proper payback. I reminded him that we would have had trouble finding Thane if it were not for your help. I think I would still be out there searching for that drell if it hadn't been for your intel. Consider this a partial 'thank you' for the things you have helped me with in the past."

The asari looks up at the commander as a sad smile appears on her face, "Did he tell you all that I did for you?"

"No, he still hasn't told me everything that is going on. I don't know who is worse, The Illusive Man or Miranda. Neither one of them are budging on the topic of how I came into the hands of Cerberus. Maybe I will never know, but all that matters is I'm back and the Reapers have hell to pay. That is why I am here." Jaelyn smiles at Liara as she picks the datapad that lay forgotten on the desk, and hands it back the asari, "I need to make sure you are okay before I can finish my mission. I have helped the others with their problems. I even helped Miranda keep her sister from being kidnapped from their maniacal father, but you probably know this already. I know Tali has been a bit preoccupied lately and has been struggling to tell me something, but I feel as though I cannot concentrate on anyone else's problems until I help you with this. I received the information last week, and have been struggling to get back here. I had to stop by Omega first for Samara to finally catch the Ardat-Yakshi that she was trailing after..."

"You helped an asari justicar bring down an Ardat-Yakshi?"

"Yes."

"Are you hurt? Did she try to seduce you?" The information broker fires questions one after the other at the human, to the point where Shepard rests her hands on Liara's shoulders.

"Relax. I am fine. Yes, she did try to seduce me, but it was all part of Samara's plan to capture her. Even if it wasn't part of the plan, it wouldn't have worked... she wasn't my type." The human says with a wink, causing Liara to blush slightly. "Now enough with the questions, I feel as though I am being interrogated by C-Sec, and you never answered my question. Does this information help you?"

Glancing back down at the datapad in her hands, it finally dawns on her what she actually held. "This looks like a conversation between two of the Broker's agents! It contains star charts and..." The asari's hand stops abruptly on a picture of a drell, "Feron! He is alive!" Liara quickly walks behind her desk and rifles through one of the many drawers.

"Who's Feron?" Shepard asks warily. Two years is certainly a long time, but it still hurt to see how happy Liara seemed to be at finding out this person was alive.

"They never told you anything, did they? About how you came into their fold, so to say," she asks as she walks back around the desk closer to the human.

Liara sits down in one of the two chairs in front of her desk and gestures for Shepard to sit in the vacant one, "After your de..." She stops as she feels the agonising pain rip through her heart again at the mere thought of Jaelyn's death, "After the _Normandy _was attacked, I began searching for you. I searched everywhere and contacted everyone, including the Alliance. I needed to find you. Even after everyone stopped looking for you, I kept up the search."

"But Garrus, Tali, and Joker would never have stopped looking, or the rest of the crew, for that matter. Why didn't you ask them for help? I know they would have been more than happy to help."

"I did not want to get their hopes up. I never told them what I was doing. I thought that maybe it would have been easier if I let the others mourn you properly without letting them think that there might have been a possibility that you survived. The attack had happened months before and even the Alliance had given up hope in finding you. Anderson had given up hope."

Liara lets her words sink in as she looks upon her ex-lover and commander's face. The pain that crosses the human's face was palpable. The asari did not want to continue, but knew that she must in order for the human to understand what was at stake, "I was starting to lose hope when a message was sent to my omnitool. It stated for me to meet with a drell, by the name of Feron, in front of Afterlife, in Omega; he would tell me what I wanted to know."

"Your very first message from the Illusive man?"

The asari nods her head.

"A very cryptic son of a bitch, isn't he?" Shepard asks with a smile.

"Agreed," Liara states, returning the smile. "I caught a ride on a freighter heading for Omega when the 'owners', which I think were privateers looking for a place to sell their black market ship parts, decided to cause me some trouble." Jaelyn looks upset upon hearing that her ex-lover had been in trouble while she was dead. "Now Jaelyn, you must understand, I was in a dark place then... still am a bit actually, but they were no problem for me. I used a singularity and incapacitated them. Driving myself to the docking station on Omega was harder than dealing with them." Liara says with a smile, hoping that it would make the human smile as well. It works, so she continues, "The rest of the story is too long to discuss completely, but what is of importance is that Feron was part of Cerberus and was sent to help me reclaim your body from the Collectors. Without his help and sacrifice, I would not have been able to bring you back. Now Cerberus is helping me with this information and I will be able to help him the same way he helped me."

"I never knew you were the one who gave my body to Cerberus. I often wondered, hell, I asked them so many times that they started to ignore me every time I brought it up. Without your determination, I would be in the hands of the Collectors... and most importantly, in the hands of the Reapers. Thank you for saving me Liara." The commander says with a smile.

"I did what I had to for... for the sake of the galaxy." The asari cringes at the last part of her statement. She could feel her heart breaking as she spoke those words. Liara hates lying to Jaelyn like this. Hates that the only person she has ever loved in this whole galaxy had to be lied to, but she remembers the words of the Illusive Man; remembers that if she let her facade drop just for a moment, he could make it where she could never see the human again, and that is what she tells herself to make the lies hurt less. In the end, she lies to herself to make everything better.

Standing up from the chair, Liara walks around her desk and reaches for a picture frame that sat on top of the desk. Clutching it close to her chest, she looks back and Jaelyn and smiles. "For two years I have been planning for revenge, now with this information you have given me, I can make it a rescue."

"Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine," the commander says, though her voice is laced with jealousy. "Is there anything you need me to do to help?"

"Come by my apartment, Jaelyn. Bring who you want with you. I will tell you more once you are there. I have a few contacts to call before we begin our hunt." Liara says as she quickly goes through her omnitool to give Shepard her address.

A beep goes off on the human's omnitool as she receives the destination. Smiling back at Liara, "I will meet you there in half an hour. I know exactly who to bring... they have missed you and will definitely want to help you take down the Shadow Broker."


	9. Cat and Mouse

_**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay. Work has been a bit hectic as of late, well, I should say life has been hectic as of late! But, here it is... chapter 8! I have started working on chapter nine, but it is still a work in progress! I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed, or favourited this story! As I have probably mentioned before, without you, this story would just be a little thought left inside my head! Also, I would like to thank freerangeegghead for going over this! I know you are not versed in this realm, but your insights, unofficial beta-ing, and love of sci-fi have been a blessing! ;) So without further ado... let the chapter begin!**_

* * *

"_**Let the Games Begin."**_

Liara walks out of her office, followed closely behind by Shepard. The asari feels as though the human has more to ask her, more than likely wanting to know more about why Feron was so special. She could never figure out why she felt the need to avenge him either. The information broker always considered him a friend, but he never was actually a friend.

Thinking back to that day as she walked slowly down the stairs from her office, Liara realises the reason why she is willing to risk her life to save Feron.

The drell had double-crossed her, had double-crossed the Shadow Broker, and was definitely on Cerberus's shit-list. He claimed he was with Cerberus, sent to help Liara find Shepard so she could finish what the Alliance would never allow the biotic to complete: the destruction of the Reapers. Things had gone according to plan until the mercenaries had shown up, that is when she knew something had to be wrong. Securing all channels of communication before attempting to contact anyone, the asari made sure that her trail was covered. Too many people would love to know that the Alliance born-and-raised, Hero of Elysium, and Saviour of the Citadel, was missing in action. Too many people that had their lifestyles ruined because of the said commander. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Feron was too calm in the face of danger that the Blue Suns imposed upon them. Too calm and too comfortable. Sure he tried to seem as if he was scared, but she saw through his facade and came to terms with the fact that she was in the midst of a double-agent.

The asari shakes her head clear of all the thoughts of the past as she slowly makes her way towards the terminal station closest to her office. She knows that Feron has more than made up for his past misdeeds, being held hostage for two years to the most notorious information broker of all time certainly qualifies as penance for his double crossings, that is why she knows she has to do this. _Needs_ to do this. If she can have redemption in her life, why can't he?

Glancing behind her, she sees Jaelyn still behind her, lost in her own thoughts, _'If only I could tell her that she has nothing to worry about. All this time, I have waited patiently to hear if Cerberus was able to do what they claimed they could do. If she only knew how he had betrayed me and then at the last minute, allowed me to rescue her body, she would know why I had to do this. She would want to do this as well. Damn the Illusive Man and the secret keeping and plotting. It will surely back-fire on him one of these days,' _Liara thinks to herself as she waits for the door to open in front of her.

Shepard notices the asari staring at her and smiles, a sad, pain-filled smile that is only worn by someone who feels her heart has been ripped in two. "I will meet you in an hour, Liara."

The asari feels the pain herself as she sees the look on the soldier's face. It hurts her not to be able to rush over to the one she loves and kiss the suffering away. "Okay. I will see you there."

The door finally slides open as Liara watches Jaelyn turn around the corner and slowly make her way towards the docking stations where the _Normandy_ is located.

Sighing to herself, Liara walks through the door and heads down the stairs. The asari glances down at the picture frame that she keeps with her at all times. Encased in glass, shining in the fluorescent lighting of the terminal station, is Shepard's dog tags. It is the only personal effects, besides the human's N7 t-shirt and shorts that she had 'borrowed' one night so long ago, that the asari was able to get her hands on; well, the only one that she had ever allowed herself to think on when she wants to remember the good times that she had. The silver tags flash in a familiar way against the lighting, causing the information broker to smile. It reminds her of the first time she had laid eyes on them.

"_Commander, I nee... want to speak to you before we reach Ilos," the Prothean Expert says tentatively as she glances at the floor, desperately trying to hide the faint blush that has covered her face._

"_Liara, I told you before, you can call me Jaelyn when we are speaking with one another. You are not Alliance, so you do not have to follow protocol," the human states with a smile. "Anyway, I am glad you are here. I was just thinking about you."_

_The asari's eyes widen momentarily as she hears what the human biotic said. She knew they both had confessed their interest in one another, but to know that the red-haired commander in front of her had actually been thinking about her surprises the woman. Taking a few more steps toward where Jaelyn was sitting, Liara clears her throat. "I wanted to let you know... if we do not make it..."_

_The human cuts her off, "Liara, I promise you. We will make it."_

"_Look, Shepard," the scientist stares at the soldier before her, "Jaelyn... I did not come here to be comforted. I came here to say that if we do not make it... if this plan goes awry... I do not want to die without telling you how I feel about us. I don't want either one of us to die without letting each other know exactly how we feel about one another."_

"_Are you sure you want to do this?" Shepard reaches for Liara's hands and squeezes them gently between hers. "I mean, we don't have to. I know how much I care for you and I can see how much you care for me. Don't let whatever thoughts that have been running rampant in your mind force you to do something you are not ready for."_

"_Jaelyn, I am only a hundred and six, but I have never been more certain about anything in my life than when I am with you."_

_Their first kiss begins softly and uncertain, both women had been hiding the bulk of their emotions by burrowing themselves into their work on the Normandy. Both were afraid that if they ever started a relationship, they would only hurt the other if something were to happen. All of this is thrown out the window as Liara deepens the kiss as she runs her hands through the commander's short red-hair. The asari feels Jaelyn's strong arms wrapping around her waist and gently picks her up, her legs instinctively wrap around the human's waist as she feels them move towards the bed._

The sound of two arguing asari awakens the information broker from her warm comfortable memories of the first time the couple had melded and she looks up in time to sidestep the bench that she had nearly walked into. Luckily, no one saw how deep in thought she was and did not see her almost embarrassing moment. Clutching the frame closer to her chest, Liara walks faster towards the transit terminal, quickly punches in a few numbers, and waits for a taxi to pick her up.

_'I hope this works,' _the asari thinks to herself as she sees the cab fly closer to the landing pad. _'The Shadow Broker will pay for the crimes he has committed against me and my friends.' _

Liara is so engrossed in her own thoughts as the taxi takes off from the pad, that she does not notice the car following closely behind. Everything is falling into place, but she knows that she will need to know more before they travel to find the Broker's base. Her search being narrowed down to three systems is almost like a sign from the goddess compared to having to search the whole universe, but it is still too much to search through, especially when Jaelyn has completely held off on her mission to take down the Collectors. Three systems would take too much time away from the commander, too much time that she knew would be detrimental to everything as they know it.

_'Maybe I should use my informant in Baria Frontiers. He should be able to __tell me which system it is, otherwise this will be over before it has even begun,' _she thinks to herself as she steps out of the taxi and automatically transfers credits over to the taxi's credit chit. "Thank you."

"You're welcome ma'am, have a nice evening," the asari driver says as she starts to drive away, leaving Liara on the landing pad near her apartment.

Walking alone towards her apartment, the asari thinks she hears a car door slam in the lot nearby. Glancing over her shoulder, she does not see anyone, _'All of this mess with the Shadow Broker has made me paranoid,' _she thinks to herself as she taps out the passcode to her apartment. The keypad beeps, causing the door to slide open and the information broker steps inside.

Her apartment would be considered minimalist to the untrained eye. On the first floor, a couple of sofas in the living room with a grand view of Illium by the large window that takes up one whole side of the apartment; a kitchen, that is utilitarian in nature, with only the basics which is perfect for a woman who is always too busy for spending any time anywhere near there, save for grabbing a quick meal or drink; and her work area, which is devoted to several monitors, and a desk littered with datapads. The second level is only a quarter in size to its lower level counterpart and only holds enough space for her bedroom.

Looking upon the space in front of her, the asari sighs. She had been debating over whether or not she should incorporate the help of her informant, Sekat, from Baria Frontiers during the ride to her apartment. _'This may be too risky, I do not want anyone to get hurt because of this,' _Liara thinks to herself as she sets the framed dog tags and datapad on her desk, and her hand hovers over the keyboard, the mind still warring with itself over what to do. _'I have to do this...' _she thinks as she quickly sets up a secure link to Sekat. _'I will be searching for months if I do not, and I do not have that luxury.' _

The screen in front of her flickers for a few seconds, as it makes its connections, then is filled with the familiar face of her contact.

"T'Soni, I didn't expect to hear from you today. Is there something you need?" Sekat says as she looks upon the salarian on the monitor in front of her.

"Sekat, I am sorry that I did not call you earlier but I need your expertise," Liara states, her voice even though she still dreads having to bring in an outside source.

The salarian looks at her warily but waits patiently as she sends the data from the datapad.

"I need you to hone in on a location for me. I have narrowed it down to three systems, but I want to refine the search more," the asari says, "I am sending you the intel now." She taps out a few commands on her datapad and waits.

A few seconds later, Liara hears a beep from Sekat's end of the communication link. "Ah, I do believe I can narrow it down for you T'Soni," the salarian declares as he views the stream of data on his omnitool. His brow furrows as he stares closely at the locations, "Miss T'Soni..." his face shows momentary hesitation, "This isn't something that will cause any trouble is it? I do not want to deal with the backlash if there is to be any."

"No, don't worry Sekat," Liara says assuredly, "There is nothing to worry about, I promise."

"Okay, I believe you T'Soni. Come by my office within twenty minutes, I will have this cracked for you by then."

The salarian ends the transmission and the asari lets her facade drop. _'I hope that this does not come back to haunt me later.'_ Liara thinks to herself as she takes the OSD out of the recording device. She glances at the glass case beside her desk and sighs, _'This will be all over soon, I hope.' _

Tears start to well up in her eyes as she stares longingly at the battered N7 armour in the case. She shakes her head quickly and wipes her eyes, _'Pull yourself together,' _she thinks to herself as she pulls herself away from the showcase with Jaelyn's broken armour. _'They will be here any minute. If she sees me like this, she will try and keep me from completing this mission.'_

A sound outside causes Liara to look out of the large window nearby, _'It was nothing... maybe I am becoming too paranoid about things,' _she muses as she walks toward the largest of the Prothean artifact showcases closest to the stairs. _'But to be on the safe side, I might need to hide this recording. I do not want this to fall into the wrong hands, just in case it is a prowler lurking outside just waiting for me to leave my apartment.' _

The asari touches the glass case and a hidden compartment slides noiselessly from the stand. As she gently places the OSD into its hiding place, the sound of glass breaking alerts her to an uninvited guest. Quickly sliding the hatch closed, Liara looks around the room, trying to catch a glimpse of the intruder. Backing up slowly, she prepares herself, biotically, as she surveys the room. A flash of red is her only warning. Throwing a barrier up, Liara deflects the bullet that was racing towards her. The projectile bounces off of her barrier and crashes into the large plate glass of the living-room window.

Hurling a biotic singularity in the direction the flash came from, the asari wastes no time escaping from her own abode. Through the door, around the corner, and finally ducking behind the shrubbery that lines the building, Liara steadies her breath and listens for any indication of someone following her.

_'I must have caught them in the singularity,' _she muses to herself, _'I need to find out who was trying to kill me just then.'_

Crawling slowly out of her hiding spot, the information broker walks cautiously around the other side of the building towards the area of the lot that the window of her apartment faces. She knows the risks that are involved but she knows she will never allow herself a decent night sleep (if she ever had one in the past two years) if she did not find out who was behind the attack.

Peeking carefully over the ledge of the outside of the window, Liara surveys the interior of her own apartment. The asari sees the destruction of her own power, but nothing else. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, near the alcove where her desk is located, she sees the silhouette of her would be assassin. _'Who could it be?' _she muses to herself as she strains to get a better look without giving away her location.

As if her question had been answered by the goddess herself, the hitman moves out from the alcove towards the living room. Ducking back down quickly, the information broker curses under her breath as she sees the person in her apartment.

_'An asari Spectre. What the hell is going on? I wish there was a way I could warn Shepard before she arrives,' Liara thinks as she looks around the perimeter for a way to escape before the other woman decides to try and find her. _

The sound of muffled voices causes Liara to lose focus on finding an escape route. Straining to listen through the thick plate glass, the asari catches the final half of the conversation.

"But Shadow Broker, sir, she is probably long gone by now. Whatever it was that she found out from Cerberus is no longer here in her apartment. She must have taken it with her. I have always heard she was paranoid, but to leave in such a rush... especially after being shot at... she left no evidence sir."

A voice garbles through the Spectre's omnitool, the message only heard by the woman herself.

"Affirmative... she would not have left without leaving a clue for Shepard. I will call the local authorities, by the time they start their search the commander is sure to be here. Shepard always wears her heart on her sleeve. She will not leave this apartment until she finds the data I need. I will not fail you Shadow Broker."

Liara bites down on her lip to keep herself calm. It would not do for her to storm the gates now, especially since it is a Spectre who is after her. She may be a highly respected information broker who helped Jaelyn chase after a rogue Spectre two years ago, but inside she still feels like the trapped archeologist on Therum. This was not the time for heroics, and she knows it. It is the time to run and survive. The call that the Spectre/ Shadow Broker agent made was not just a simple 'I botched up my job' call, it was a request for reinforcements. Liara crawls further away from the window, towards the parking lot, hoping and praying to the goddess that she is able to make it to Dracon Trade Centre in time.

Hearing the telltale sounds of sirens in the distance, the asari takes this as her cue to escape. Pushing herself off the ground, she runs a few blocks away before reaching a transit terminal. Liara tries to catch her breath as she quickly punches the address into the terminal. Looking over her shoulder towards the complex that she, moments before, ran away from, the information broker relaxes slightly allowing the pent up adrenaline to ebb away.

Moments later, a taxi hovers nearby. Climbing into the cab, she glances one more time over her shoulder and sighs, _'I hope Jaelyn finds my message.'_


	10. Truth and Consequences

_**Author's Note: **_**Sorry for the delay, work has been crazy as of late and it has been extremely hard to update. But hear it is... chapter 9! I wish to thank everyone who reviewed, favourited, and followed this story!**

* * *

"_**At some point in life, a time comes when there are **_

_**consequences in finding the truth."**_

The cab stops right in front of Dracon Trade Centre. The huge edifice looms up in front of Liara blotting out her view of any sign of a possible attack waiting for her. Climbing out of the cab, she transfers credits to the driver, and watches as the cab drives off and merges into the streaming flow of traffic overhead. It is nearly time for everyone to leave for the day, so the asari is cautious as she moves through the throngs of people that are heading home after a long day in the office.

Liara knew that Sekat would wait for her, the salarian always worked late into the night, working to find new short-cuts to systems that seemed too far away even with the use of the mass effect relays. His calculated mind seems to always feel the need to push forward, almost to the breaking point, to achieve perfection in everything he works on. He was the only one who could recognise any planet on any star-chart to ever grace his desk.

That is why she asked him for his help. Liara knew that without the help of Sekat, she could not locate the exact coordinates of the Shadow Broker's hideout. The asari has been to a few of the elusive broker's bases in the past, in hopes of finding his exact location, but there was never a trace of evidence anywhere. How the Illusive Man had been able to receive as much data as he had sent Liara is mind-boggling to her, but she knows she can not focus on that right now, no matter how much her mind wants to stray in that direction.

Finally arriving at the door of the building, the information broker looks behind her one last time, searching for someone, anyone, who may look suspicious.

_'Get a hold of yourself, Liara, it's not like they would be wearing a sign or something. I am making myself look more questionable by looking around warily,' _Liara mentally tells herself. This is a time where she wishes that Jaelyn was here. The Alliance officer always knows exactly how to keep the asari from worrying too much. Even when the situation was dire, like Ilos, Jaelyn always keeps a level head which helped the rest of the squad remain as such as well. The human was always the rock to which the asari had clung to, even before they became lovers, and it is because of this fact Liara wants to limit the amount of involvement of Jaelyn. _'Two years have passed, who knows what sort of person she is now,' _Liara had thought just the day before, _'She may not even want to be with me in that sort of way any more.'_

Walking into the large vestibule of Dracon Trade Centre, the information broker feels a little overwhelmed at the amount of people that were still mingling about after hours. Fighting down the overpowering urge to walk back out, Liara straightens her back and walks towards the elevators. She has been to Sekat's office in the Baria Frontiers quarters of the Trade Centre only a couple of times in the past, but she remembers exactly where she needs to go. Liara presses the call button beside the closed doors of the elevator and watches as the numbers descend over the doorframe.

"_So Liara, you are Matriarch Benezia's daughter?" Garrus asks as the turian, Liara, and Shepard enter the elevator heading to the lower levels of the Citadel towards C-Sec. _

"_Yes, yes I am. What sort of question is that, Garrus?" the asari asks as she stares at the former C-Sec officer._

"_Well, after we make a stop at the C-Sec's requistion offices to procure more weapons, we are heading to Noveria... to where your mother is supposedly located."_

"_Garrus..." Jaelyn says, her voice warning the turian that he is heading into dangerous territory if he continues this line of thought._

"_Shepard, I am just wondering if it is wise for you to bring her along to Noveria. I think you should bring Gunnery Chief Williams and myself instead. Who knows what she will do when she is faced with her mother." _

"_Just drop it Vakarian!" The commander shouts, "I told you before and I will say it again, I trust Liara with my life and nothing will go wrong."_

"_Commander, I think I can speak for myself," the Prothean expert says quietly, "Garrus, I am not my mother. I have never been my mother. And I promise you that I will do what is necessary for us to win against Sovereign, Saren, and the geth. I wish that I did not have to prove myself to you, Garrus, but if I have to, then I will. I would have thought that you could at least do me the common courtesy of addressing any problems that you have with me, to me and not to the Commander while I am still in the same room as you!"_

_The turian's mandibles twitch slightly showing the discomfort that he felt at his folly. "I'm sorry Liara... I know what I said was pretty bad, but everything is getting to me. My time with C-Sec never prepared me for any of this. Tracking down a rogue Spectre, the geth, and then add a sentient dreadnought into the mix and well, you have a turian that can't control his emotions," Garrus sighs, "Huh... I guess father was right about me not being a good turian." _

"_You know that is not true Garrus," Liara says, her anger towards the turian turning to pity, "Emotions do not make a bad turian, they make you a good person and can help you greatly if you do not let them get the best of you."_

_Jaelyn turns towards Liara and smiles, the human is glad that the confrontation between the two did not become more. The door to the elevator opens and Liara is the first one out so the commander could not see the blush that was forming on her cheeks._

The door to the elevator finally opens into the lobby of the Baria Frontiers office and the sudden movement causes Liara to snap out of her memories. Even though she found the light conversation between the newly formed crew members of the _Normandy _to be annoying and horribly forced, she now misses the small talk whenever she is in an elevator by herself and finds herself, more often than not, thinking back to certain instances in which she had gained more respect for the people who were once strangers. The asari starts to walk out of the elevator but stops when she hears voices from around the corner.

"_Where is the asari?"_

"_I-i don't know who you are talking about, there are many asari that come through here."_

"_You know which one I am talking about, salarian... Dr. Liara T'Soni. We have vids that confirm that she was seen heading towards the elevators in the lobby of this building, so we won't ask you nicely again. Where the fuck is T'Soni?"_

"_I told you that I don't know! I swear to you! I haven't seen her today! Wh-what are you going to do with that?"_

A loud gunshot rings out in the lobby as the doors of the lift slide close. Liara backs up to the corner of the elevator. Touching the cool metal of the wall, she exhales slowly, closes her eyes, and waits with her biotics ready for the doors to open again. They do not open, but she faintly hears whoever had pulled the trigger speak, _"Set the charges. I want this place blown to hell, she may have made a stop somewhere in this building before coming here."_

The information broker waits a few moments before attempting to open the door of the elevator again, hoping that the unknown gunman has left so she can make her way to Sekat. Walking slowly towards the door of the lift, she reaches out to press the panel to open the door when she feels the ground start to shake and hears the distinct sound of a bomb exploding. The creaking and twisting of metal above and below her causes the asari's heart to race as she feels the elevator suddenly drop several metres before screeching to a halt.

_'The emergency brakes must have stopped the elevators descent,' _Liara thinks to herself, _'I need to get out of here before they give out!'_

The asari looks up at the maintenance hatch directly above her head. Taking a deep breath, Liara concentrates on her biotics slowly causing herself to rise off the floor. She reaches up and pushes on the hatch causing it to creak open. Liara pulls herself up through the hatch opening and on to the roof of the lift, straining her eyes, she searches vainly for the outer door of the elevator shaft. After a few moments, the asari's eyes adjust to the dim shaft and she is able to spot a barely there glint of light on the right-hand side of the wall a metre above her head. Sighing with relief, Liara takes a step in the direction of the light causing the metal cables in the centre of the roof to groan in protest.

_'Just keep calm,' _she thinks as she takes few more agonising steps towards the side of the wall.

A loud shriek of metal against metal cuts through the silence and the elevator gives a lurch, then plummets into the eternal darkness of the shaft.


End file.
